Terrorists attacked New York and Washington in an unprecedented
widespread scale this morning, destroying the twin towers of the
World Trade Center and Pentagon in Washington by three airplanes,
with a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania.
In
the first attack, a plane hit the north tower of the World Trade
Center in Manhattan around 8:45 (eastern time), followed by another
plane into the second tower about 20 minutes later. Both towers
collapsed, no figure of either casualties or injuries were
available while an average 15,000 persons, including tourists,
visited the towers.
American Airlines confirmed that it lost two planes in “tragic
accidents”. Flight 11 from Boston with 81 passengers and 11 crew
aboard and Flight 77 from Washington Dulles airport with 58
passengers and six crew aboard. Both planes were en route to Los
Angeles.
About an hour later, a plane crashed into the Pentagon, part of
which later collapsed.
United Airlines Flight 93 airliner headed from Newark, New Jersey
to San Francisco, crashed near Somerset, Pennsylvania. Police said
initial reports indicated no survivors. It was not known if this
was connected to the attacks. United also said it was "”deeply
concerned” about Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles.
The Pentagon, the White House, the State Department, the Justice
Department, the Capitol, the CIA and all other government buildings
in Washington evacuated.
In
the first ever national ground stop of aircraft, all flights
nationwide have been stopped at their departure airports. All
international flights were diverted to Canada.
Israel has evacuated all its missions around the world.
President George W. Bush cancelled an appearance in Florida to
return to Washington, calling the crashes “apparent terrorists
attacks” and “a national tragedy.”
In
Chicago, the Sears Tower was evacuated, United Nations in New York
evacuated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta was
evacuated. CDC was preparing bioterrorism teams in case they became
necessary.
The New York Port authority said it had closed all bridges and
tunnels into the city. And US stock markets were closed after the
New York attacks.
(Xinhua News
Agency 09/12/2001)